The One World Festival returns in 2022 with over 60 international long, medium and short films, most of them national premieres. And this year, the screenings will take place in two stages: physically, between May 13th -23rd, in Bucharest, at Cinema Elvire Popesco, ARCUB, Cinemateca Eforie and other indoor and outdoor locations in the city, and online, throughout the country, between May 23rd - 31st.

The main theme highlights the interaction between man and the environment, whether natural or built, and holistically addresses the notion of „ecology", both from the perspective of the individual and the environment in which we live.

„Man is nature. Everything that happens in nature actually happens in us, and everything that happens in us is reflected back in nature. Having in mind the man as part of a vast and complex ecosystem of the world, One World Romania #15 will focus on the notion of „ecology'' applied not only to the environment, but also to the human mind and body. In this edition of the festival, we want to reflect on the interaction between body, mind and the world around us, and explore both the ecology of the environment, and the one of the mind and body. In general, we have a sort of knowledge on how pollution and environmental disasters have a negative impact on our physical and mental health, but we are less aware of how our mental and physical structures affect and pollute the environment, in a continuous loop. The irresponsible desire for expansion, without respect for what surrounds us, actually reflects a deep disconnection from our own needs, which in reality are never in conflict with those of the Planet. " (Monica Stan, artistic director of the festival)

The 2022 edition of the festival shows the world in constant change - and the impact of these transformations affects us, at a fast pace, in all aspects of our lives. We are in a continuous work in progress, which leaves room for both destruction and future viable legacies. In search of stability, we need anchors, to feel rooted in a place, a territory, a community, or even values, in other words we want „to be with our feet on the ground’’. Thus, at OWR #15 we will pay special attention to the soil, which becomes a binder in living harmoniously and building balanced ecosystems in the dynamics of man, nature and resources.

With the lack of fertile soil we reach ecological disasters, carbon dioxide emissions from greenhouse gases, desertification, precarious agriculture, lack of food, areas without water and trees or reduced biodiversity. The social repercussions go hand in hand, and in search of resources, there are phenomena of mass migration, refugees, unemployment, but also armed conflicts. The lack of support mechanisms, be they financial, from a community or government, lead to extreme human actions, alienation and isolation, with further effects on the human body and mind. In other words, they lead to internal, interpersonal and environmental imbalances.

In 2022, we support the global Conscious Planet campaign, which makes awareness regarding  the disappearance of fertile soil, so we will approach at OWR#15, through a series of films and events, the perspective of soil regeneration and man's relationship with the earth.

The 15th edition of the OWR Festival brings to the public's attention other topics that concern us constantly, regarding migration, justice, diversity, tolerance, work from the perspective of the effects of climate change on the migration phenomenon, the ways in which justice can help us regulate the economic system in a sustainable way and the impact that different trades and activities have on the environment, as well as on our physical and mental health.

This year's series of visuals, made by Maria Drăghici, starts from human spaces claimed by nature, in a natural and non-invasive way. The main direction is given by the invitation to an imaginary negotiating table, which might help open the dialogue, rather in a tense context, which resemble to the calm before the storm.

The OWR # 15 events begin with the preview screening of the film “Immaculate”, directed by Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark, the first event in the Warm-up series of the One World Romania # 15 Festival.